You South Africa – 22 August 2019

Rabada has always had the potential to

bethenextSteyn.He’salreadybeenNo1

in the world Test rankings [and is now

No2,andNo3intheODIranking].

“With more expert management

and coaching he can be even better.”

As far as more experienced senior

players go, De Villiers says Test opening

batsmen Dean Elgar (32) can help Du

Plessis (35) stabilise the team.

The same applies to Vernon Philander

(34), particularly as a Test fast bowler.

Rassie van der Dussen (30), SA’s best

batter at the world cup after Du Plessis,

“has also now shown how good he is”.

“It’sjustapityoursystemsareso

weak that he’s only coming through at

this age,” De Villiers says.

More recently fast bowler Lungi Ngidi

(23) and Keshav Maharaj (29), who can

takeoverthemantleofspinbowler

from Imran Tahir (40), can boost this

possible future core group of players.

DID THE COACH HAVE TO GO?

“OttisGibsonisn’ttoblameforthings

going wrong for the Proteas,” De Villiers

says.“Someoneisbeingmadethescape-

goat again to cover up more wide-

ranging problems.”

De Villiers is one of several experts

who believes there’s been significant de-

cline in SA cricket at provincial level. The

gap between this level and international

cricket has grown so wide “it’s causing a

real problem”.

“Gibson, with his experience in inter-

national coaching and bowling circles in

the West Indi

and England, h

the credential

You can’t achie

the success ex

pected from hi

in a year or tw

Our system ha

let him down – h

should’ve ha

more suppor

and freedom.”

The relativel

inexperienced

Enoch Nkwe

now been appointe as interim coac o

the Proteas – or team director, as the po-

sition will be known in future.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Our systems must be improved so a larg-

er pool of talented players can be devel-

oped faster and their careers better

managed, De Villiers says.

This includes how much cricket they

play, fitness and injuries, international

exposure and using all available exper-

tise to compete optimally. Many vastly

experienced former players with years of

international exposure are prepared to

help but administrators shun them.

In the short term, Cricket SA must do

what it can to ensure Test veterans such

as Du Plessis, Elgar and Philander don’t

follow Amla and Steyn. SA can’t afford to

lose any more players of high calibre. S

EXTRA SOURCES: ICC-CRICKET.COM, ESPNCRICINFO.COM,

CRICKET.CO.ZA

DALE STEYN (36)

The exuberant

“Phalaborwa

Express” is the

best Test bowler

South Africa has

ever produced.

“I wonder if

there’s ever been

a better fast

bowler, athlete

or sportsman on

planet Earth,”

former fast

bowler Fanie de

Villiers says.

439 Test wickets, the most

263 weeks on top of any South African

of the ICC Test rank-

ings – unbeaten re-

cord

196

ODI wickets

61 wickets in

international T20s

Best Test bowling figures

11/60

Fastest SA bowler to reach 300 Test wickets (achieved in 61 Tests)

156,2km/h

The speed at which he

bowled during an Indian

Premier League (IPL)

match in 2010 – the fast-

est ball ever by a South

93 Tests 125 ODIs African bowler

Sacked coach Ottis

Gibson.

you.co.za 22 AUGUST 2019 | (^23)
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